This top guy is crazy!

"Oh dear~" The director of Wushan TV station waved his hand in anguish, as if blaming Liu Wei for being so slow to understand:
"Old Liu, don't be so stubborn! Times have changed! We've worked so hard to rebuild our reputation and popularity, now's the time to strike while the iron is hot! Stop now? Do you know how many advertisers have been calling me this morning? It's real money!"

Liu Wei remained unmoved.

He knew that what he was about to say might be somewhat disrespectful to his superior, but he had to say it:

"Director, we've clearly stated on our show that this is the final season. We've already done the awards ceremony, hyped up the nostalgia, and the audience has taken it seriously and invested their emotions. If we go back on our word now and force another season just for the sake of popularity, the public opinion will backfire!"

The audience will immediately feel that their feelings have been deceived, and the media will ridicule us for "breaking our promises" and "having an ugly attitude."

The praise and reluctance garnered for this final episode now will turn into countless times more hatred and ridicule later.

This is a betrayal and an overdraft of all our efforts over the past fifteen years.

"Director," Liu Wei pleaded, "let it end at its most glorious moment. Preserve everyone's best selves. Knowing when to stop and gracefully retiring is the greatest respect and protection we can give to the 'Chase the Wind' brand and to everyone who has poured their heart and soul into it."

The station director was unwilling to accept this.

Wushan TV Station is now on a downward trend, with its flagship variety shows lacking new talent. The old show "Chase the Wind" has finally been revitalized, so how could he be willing to let it end like this?

He suddenly slapped his thigh, a brilliant idea popping into his head:

"I have a solution, Lao Liu! Let's end the main series of 'Chasing the Wind' here, permanently freezing it at season 15, no problem! But we can start spin-offs, like 'Chasing the Wind Overseas Season' or 'Chasing the Wind Old Friends Season'. In short, we can just create a new name and a new shell to start it again!"
"Old Liu, you know more about public opinion than I do; we can totally manipulate it! First, let the online trolls and marketing accounts lead the hype, saying that thousands of netizens have petitioned for a next season—the demand is too high! Then, we'll half-heartedly agree, 'in response to the enthusiastic requests of the audience,' and smoothly announce the launch of a 'spin-off special' or a 'reboot season.' Wouldn't that save face and substance?"

Upon hearing the station director's "same old trick" plan, Liu Wei slowly shook his head and said:
"Director, this idea won't work."

Cheng Cheng will definitely participate again. The reason we were able to persuade him was by appealing to his emotions about the 'final season'.

If we go back on our word and suddenly release some kind of 'spin-off,' it will only displease him. Without him, any 'spin-off' is meaningless, and the show's popularity will instantly plummet, or even worse.

"Side Story Season," "Old Friends Season"—no matter how fancy the names are, isn't it still just the sixteenth season? Director, we can't do that."

The station director's patience was clearly running out, and the excitement on his face had long been replaced by displeasure.

He waved his hand, his tone hardening:
"Old Liu! How can you be so sure Cheng Cheng won't participate again? We gave him 80 million before, now we're giving him 100 million, do you think he won't come? Besides, we still have veterans like Lou Guang and Qu Jun. Now that the hype is building, we're not afraid of not finding new highlights."

I think this matter is settled. You go and make the preparations..."

Liu Wei looked exhausted.
"Director! If that's your decision, then I'm withdrawing. You can hand this over to someone else."

With that, he left the station director's office, and the two parted on bad terms.

"Foolish!!!" The station director was furious. He simply couldn't understand how Liu Wei could be so stubborn and inflexible in such a promising situation!
"Hmph! Don't know what's good for you!" He slumped back into his chair, his chest heaving.
"Did you really think that 'Chasing the Wind' couldn't be done without you, Liu Wei? 'Chasing the Wind' is all the rage right now, there are plenty of directors willing to take it on!!"

Thinking this, he picked up the internal phone and said to his secretary:
"Get me Director Li from the program production center! Also, compile a list of directors who currently don't have any major projects at the station but are capable of handling large-scale outdoor variety shows, and send it to me immediately!"

For the next two or three days, Wushan TV station was pushing this matter forward.

The news naturally reached Mythology as well.

Mythical Building, top-floor office. Li Zhuo's expression was cold:

"Wu Shan TV has absolutely no shame. Riding on the current hype, they want to run another season. And they've even started approaching sponsors, which is outside the original terms!"

She looked at Cheng Cheng, her eyes sharp:

"Should I give the director of Wushan TV a 'greeting' call? If Wushan TV dares to run another season, I'll make sure their programs don't air!"

Now that Li Zhuo holds a high position of power, his temper is getting worse.

Cheng Cheng didn't seem to care at all:
"There's no need. Let them open if they want. It's just repeating the mistakes of the previous seasons. We'll just watch and see. They'll end up in a miserable state."

"Hmph~", Li Zhuo snorted coldly, "I just can't stand it."

Cheng Cheng said, "There's no need to pay them any mind. However, they did remind me of something."

Li Zhuo asked, "What is it?"

Cheng Cheng said:
"It's time for us to start another variety show."

Li Zhuo's eyes lit up: "You have an idea?"

Cheng Cheng said, "It's not a new idea."

Cheng Cheng had wanted to make "Ace vs Ace" before, but he had to put it on hold because it was difficult to find celebrities like Shen Teng and Jia Ling.

Now that he has all the artists under his management, and Zhang Zijie (Zeng Xiaoxian)'s schedule is also free, it's time to get started.

Cheng Cheng said, "It's the 'Ace vs Ace' that I mentioned before. The guest list is initially set for Zhang Zijie and Xu Rui."

Xu Rui is the actor who played Liu Qi in "The Wandering Earth". Because he has appeared on several variety shows and had a good comedic effect, Cheng Cheng also included him in the list.

Li Zhuo asked, "Just these two for now?"

Cheng Cheng said, "We can extend an invitation to Jiang He and Liu Yidan. From our interactions on the show, they seem to have a good rapport with the audience and have a great personality."

Li Zhuo nodded, understanding the meaning.

Although Cheng Cheng said he didn't care about Wushan TV restarting the "Chase the Wind" spin-off season, he had actually made plans to counter it. "Ace vs Ace" was the weapon he used to counter Wushan TV.

She smiled inwardly; her earlier anger had completely vanished. She said:
"I'll immediately arrange a planning meeting and have someone send preliminary expressions of interest to Jiang He and Liu Yidan's studios. I think—"

She paused for a moment, then said, "They probably won't refuse."

Of course, no one would refuse a project from a mythological company. (End of Chapter)